


And Above The Stars Do Shine

by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink)



Category: Game Grumps, jacksepticeye
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Spring Sprite AU, Summer Solstice, in a glade 'verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 17:44:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11257782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_in_ink/pseuds/Angel%20Ascending
Summary: It's Summer solstice and everyone is gathering together!





	And Above The Stars Do Shine

**Author's Note:**

> Written for @HerbertBest's In A Glade 'verse! I do love it so.

The immortals that live in the forest have no set calendar, or need for one. It does not matter if it is Monday or Friday, they do no take weekends or holidays off. The days that are important to them they know in a way that has nothing to do with grids and numbers. Holly woke up knowing that today was summer solstice and also something else, something rarer was going to occur. She had been up since sunrise, gathering herbs and plants and fruit, making several batches of oatcakes and leaving them on a rock outside her cave to cool.

There had been a time, long long ago, when the humans from the village, (which had grown into a town which had grown into a city) would have left offerings of oatcakes and mead for the forest spirits, and there had been a time when Holly would have accepted them, and would have let the young maidens come and collect herbs and flowers to put under their pillows, so that they could dream of their future husbands. Those days had long since passed, and Holly was determined to keep herself busy so she would not think of why. She was gathering up a few bottles of honeysuckle wine and honey mead when she heard the commotion outside her cave.

“Shoo! Go away! I wasn’t doing anything! Ow! Holly! Holly, call him off!”

The voice was a familiar one, and Holly grinned wryly to herself as she exited her cave. Feathers, a wood pigeon who kept Holly company more often than not, was perched on Jack’s head, between his long rabbit ears, and was pecking him while cooing angrily. Jack was holding an oatcake in one hand and trying to fend off the bird with the other, with no success.

“Feathers is only doing his job, Jack, protecting food from would be thieves. Those cakes are for tonight.”

“I’m not a thief!” Jack protested, earning another peck from Feathers. “Ow! I was only going to borrow one!”

Holly raised an eyebrow. “You mean you were going to give it back?”

Jack tried to grin, the effect rather spoiled by Feathers giving him another peck on the head. “Ow! Okay, no, but I’m hungry and tonight is forever from now! It’s the longest day of the year!” His long ears went back as he turned a piteous expression on her, his mismatched eyes huge in his face. “Please? Just one?”

Holly sighed and Feathers flew over to her, landing on her shoulder and nuzzling against her cheek. “Fine.”

Jack grinned and darted forward, giving Holly a peck on the cheek, and then he was gone, fast as a rabbit, munching on his prize.

Holly sighed again, but she smiled as she gave Feathers a good head skritch.

*******

The cave Dan walked through was chilly and damp and dark, not that he minded any of those things. He could see in darkness just as well as daylight, and the coolness of the cave was pleasant after the heat of the midsummer sun. He had been so excited that morning when he realized what day it was and what else was going to happen later that he had given himself deer legs, the better to leap and run with. Now though he had two legs like a goat, to make walking through the rocky cave easier. He had a large, hollowed out gourd slung over one shoulder, and the contents sloshed gently as he walked. It was a trip he had made an endless number of times, though usually it was autumn when he did so. Today though, today was special.

The deeper Dan went, the louder the sound of Brian’s snoring got, the sound bringing a fond smile to Dan’s face. After a moment there was another sound as well, laughter like water running over rock, and Suzy bloomed out of the cave wall in front of Dan, hair glittering, eyes shining. “Dan! I thought I’d see you down here today!” She wrapped him in a brief hug. “Waking him up early?”

“For this? Of course! You’re going to be there, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it! Good luck waking him up, you know how he is.” She yawned. “Speaking of sleep, that’s what I should be doing. See you tonight!” She sank into the rock and was gone as suddenly as she appeared.

Dan hummed happily as the cave passage opened up ahead of him. Brian slept on a slab of stone, his skin nearly the same color as the rock he was sleeping on. Something about it reminded Dan of stories he had overheard while sneaking close to human campfires, stories about kings sleeping under hills until they were needed to defend the land. Dan smiled and leaned forward, kissing Brian softly on the lips. It was a traditional way to wake someone from sleep, and a favorite of theirs.

Brian continued to snore.

Dan frowned slightly and shook Brian’s shoulder. “Brian? C’mon Bri, wake up.”

“Just three more months,” Brian mumbled sleepily, rolling onto his side.

“Briiiiian!” Dan whined. “Wake up!”

Brian cracked open one eye. “It’s early. Why are you—“ Brian paused, then opened his other eye and sat up, rubbing the stiffness out of his neck. “Oh.”

“See! I had a good reason!” Dan was practically bouncing. “And I brought your favorite!” He held out the gourd to Brian, which was full of blackberry sage tea.

Brian blinked sleepily at Dan before taking a swig of the tea. “At least you brought a proper offering,” he said, his tone flat with a hint of amusement creeping around the edges. “I shall spare you my wrath. For now.”

Dan laughed and gave Brian a proper kiss, tasting blackberries on his tongue.

*******

As the sun slowly began to set they all made their way to the top of one of the forest’s great hills. There was a ring of small stones and a pile of kindling, though who had left the kindling none could say. Holly was the one who built the fire and kindled it with a word. They ate cakes the cakes Holly had made, filled with summer berries, and drank tea and mead and honeysuckle wine. Suzy told a ghost story she had heard while creeping by a human campfire, while Brian told a true story about a kitsune who had wandered into the woods one winter some years ago, very lost indeed. Jack told stories about the gods of the desert, about Coyote, stories that made everyone laugh. Then, as the fire began to die, Dan sang a song that had been old when the world was young, and it was so beautiful that any mortal would have wept to hear it.

The fire burned itself out, and the night was dark and clear and warm, the sky a carpet of stars. When the first meteor streaked across the sky everyone turned their heads upward as one and watched. More meteors fell, burning beautifully in the night, an occurrence rare enough that it had brought all the immortals together to watch. The sight reminded Jack of home, not the forest or the desert, but Elsewhere. Suzy could almost taste the nickel and iron of them on her tongue. Brian thought the sight of them was worth the heat of summer, and he smiled slightly even as he yawned. Dan looked at his friends enjoying themselves as much as he looked at the sky, and when he noticed Holly looking wistful he took her hand and kissed it. Holly leaned over until her head was resting on Dan’s shoulder, and for a brief moment, surrounded by her family, she was content to simply be, and toenjoy the beauty of a summer’s night.


End file.
